Raised decks and slatted floors have been used for quite some time in livestock production of animals such as hogs. Such floors are used in farrowing crates, nursery pens, finishing pens, feeding stalls and other enclosures and facilities used in production and caring of livestock, fowl, and other animals.
A farrowing crate is a device in which a sow is placed before she is ready to farrow, or have pigs. If a sow farrows in an unconfined, open, lot she usually lays on or steps on the newborn pigs, killing a number of the pigs in the litter. Additionally, sows sometimes eat their offspring. Thus, left to their own devices the sows tend to reduce the productivity of a livestock grower.
Accordingly, farrowing stalls were developed to provide a confined area for the sow, approximately 24" wide by 7' long, to force the sow to lay down on her front feet, udder, and rear legs before rolling on her side rather than just flopping or rolling on her side as is her natural inclination when on an open lot. Thus, by preventing the sow from rolling or flopping to her side, farrowing crates increase hog production by reducing the number of newborn pigs killed by the farrowing sow.
The farrowing crates had previously been placed on a wood, concrete, or dirt floor in a building and a bedding of hay, wood chips, straw, corn cob or similar material provided for the sow and newborn pigs. However, numerous problems are associated with confining the sow to a farrowing crate with a wood, concrete or dirt floor. A nursing pig roots and, when located on concrete or wood floors, tends to rub off all of the skin at the front portions of its legs or joints. Thus, disease and infection is given an opportunity to set in. Moreover, wood, concrete and dirt harbor bacteria which increase the prospect for spread of disease to the sows and baby pigs confined to the farrowing crate.
When a bedding is used with the farrowing crate for the sows and pigs, the bedding becomes damp and wet from waste material such as manure and urine. Such an environment raises the susceptibility of the baby pigs to scours and other diseases. Such bedding is expensive to maintain since it must be changed at least once per day at great labor cost.
Accordingly, slatted floors of various types were developed for use with farrowing crates. Farrowing crates were thus typically raised a distance of approximately 12" from the floor, on a steel framework, and slats or other passageways provided in the flooring of the crate to permit waste to drop through the crate floor, onto the building floor below. In such an arrangement, bedding is not required, thus eliminating one problem in raising nursing pigs to weaning.
However, the types of slatted floors used in the prior art have themselves caused numerous problems for both the sows and the baby pigs. Such problems are due to the construction used in the slatted floors and are described below.
Injection molded flooring is usually molded in 1' by 2' sections in an injection molding process. The sections are snapped together with interlocks oh the sides and ends of the flooring. The molds used to form such flooring is quite expensive, in the range between $40,000 and $100,000, for example. Accordingly, such flooring is one of the highest priced types of flooring on the market.
The material used in such injection molded floors is quite brittle, however, and is known to break when dropped on a cement floor from heights no greater than two or three feet. Moreover, great care is required to assemble the flooring because of the ease with which the interlocking tabs break off if the floor is not kept level at all times. Additionally, special floor supports and legs therefor are required. The large openings provided in such flooring permits the manure to pass therethrough, leading to build up on the support members which are hard to clean.
A significant disadvantage of injection molded flooring is the use of hard, brittle material therein which, among other problems, makes it quite difficult for the sow to get a footing on the flooring. Thus, when the sow attempts to stand in the crate her feet tend to slide on the flooring. Further, because such flooring is typically provided in fixed dimensions, the flooring cannot be used on existing frame works which thus must be replaced in order to install this type of flooring.
Another type of commonly available flooring is a woven wire flooring, which is less expensive than the injection molded flooring and is consequently one of the most extensively used flooring currently marketed. Such flooring is usually galvanized. However, the joints in the weave of such flooring wear through the galvanized material rapidly, permitting the waste to contact the ungalvanized metal surfaces which then deteriorate quite rapidly. Further, because the joints loosen, the rods used in the flooring spread to an extent permitting the pigs' feet to pass through the spread openings. Because of rust and corrosion, such flooring may last as little as three years.
The edges of woven wire flooring are quite sharp and require protection, in the form of leather gloves for example, when assembling. If the edges of the floor are exposed at joints between sections, pigs may receive severe cuts therefrom. Further, such flooring is quite hard on the feet and legs of the sows, sometimes creating problems so severe that the farmer must dispose of the sow. Moreover, when the sow lays on such a floor, abrasions are frequently caused in the shoulder and ham portions which may become infected, leading to veterinary expenses and possible loss of the sow. Still further, when a baby pig nurses it tends to scrape its leg over the flooring. Where sharp edges are present, as in this type of flooring, the baby pig may become infected.
Although manure passes through woven wire flooring better than through plastic coated flooring, the waste frequently builds up on the floor and needs to be washed down with a high pressure hose. The many joints and overlaps in the wire provide a location for accumulation of bacteria and further injury and disease to the confined animals. Cleaning such a structure becomes difficult in view of the many joints therein.
Concrete slatted floors have been used. Such floors are typically made in two ways. Sections of a fixed width (e.g., 4 feet) by various lengths (e.g., 8, 10 or 12 feet) may be provided. Alternatively, beams of concrete may be cast, approximately 4 to 6 inches in width and several feet in length. The beams are placed next to each other on pillars, and the livestock placed on top of the beams, over a waste catching pit.
However, special equipment, such as a tractor having a front end loader or a truck boom, is required to put the flooring in place. The concrete is highly abrasive, and is hard on the hogs'feet, as well as on nursing pigs who develop infection and disease as a result. Concrete is moreover quite porous, thus harboring bacteria and increasing the likelihood of disease in the livestock Inasmuch as the slots in the floor are widely spaced, manure buildup on the concrete is common. High pressure water is required to clean the accumulated waste from the top of the concrete slats, causing the concrete to absorb moisture and causing the livestock to be damp or wet most of the time spent on such a floor.
Steel slatted flooring is also used, and typically includes cross members of 1/4" by 1" steel having stringers welded across the bottom thereof. Angle irons are set on the outside edges and the units are welded together. Such units are typically made in 12", 24" and 30" sections. Although inexpensive, such flooring lasts only a few years because of the high acidity levels of the waste contacting the steel. Such flooring typically had one inch spaces between the slots and, consequently, not all of the solid waste could pass therethrough, thus requiring much more time to keep clean. Steel flooring is much more abrasive on pigs than plastic floors, and is more porous thus providing more areas for bacterial growth.
Expanded metal plastic coated flooring is also used. Such flooring is made by using expanded steel sheets, and coating the same with plastic. However, the openings in this type of flooring are so small that there is insufficient room for the manure to pass. Thus, the manure packs into the diamond shaped openings and, when stepped on by the pigs, becomes still more solidly packed. It then becomes necessary to use a high pressure water hose to wash the accumulated manure through the floor, thus wetting the pigs and the sow. The moisture in turn leads to disease problems.
Still another draw back to such floors is the occasional cracking in the plastic coating used on the floor. Moisture is thus permitted to seep through the cracks to the metal, which deteriorates very rapidly unbeknownst to the farmer until a sow steps on a weakened area and her leg literally passes through the floor. The metal inside the flooring then becomes jagged and may cause severe cuts, which may lead to the sow bleeding to her death.
The 5' by 7' size of such flooring panels provides very heavy sheets, awkward to carry and position on the raised decks, and requiring at least two men to perform the task.
Plastic coated steel rods are used in a similar flooring, wherein rods are welded parallel to each other. The welded steel flooring is then coated with plastisol plastic to provide a plastic finish. The major disadvantages applicable to the plastic coated wire mesh flooring also apply to this type of flooring, although the coated rods clean somewhat better than the diamond shaped plastic Coated expanded steel. In view of the numerous joints present on this type of floor, there exists a much greater danger of cracking of the plastic, leading to a weak spot in the floor due to rapid deterioration of the metal in the floor. Such coated rods, however, are quite expensive.
There is thus a need for a less expensive flooring, having material which is flexible rather than brittle, is easily manipulated and assembled without requiring specialized equipment, comes in standard and custom made sizes to fit existing frames, does not deteriorate, presents no sharp edges to the animals, causes fewer injuries and disease, and is easy to clean and maintain.